Jin Xiang

Jin Xiang (20 April 1935 – 23 December 2015) was a Chinese composer and conductor. He studied composition at the China Central Conservatory from 1954. In 1959 he received his Bachelor of Arts in Composition. Since being labelled a rightist in 1957, he was sent to work in Art Troupe of Aksu Prefecture after graduation, and had to labor at the same time. In 1973, he became a conductor of Orchestra of Song and Dance Ensemble of Xinjiang Song, Dance and Drama Theatre. After the Cultural Revolution he returned to Beijing and was conductor and composer in residence of the Orchestra of Beijing Song and Dance Ensemble from 1979–1984. Jin Xiang came to the United States in 1988 and was a visiting scholar at the Juilliard School in 1998 and the University of Washington and the composer-in-residence at the Washington National Opera. From 1994-1995 he was the Art Director of the China Performing Administration Centre of the Ministry of Culture. In 1996, he founded and was the president of the East-West Music Exchange Association, a non-profit that promoted the exchange of eastern and western music.

He died on 23 December 2015, aged 80. Provided by Wikipedia